Lobbying against the threat of some sort of statutory press regulator grew more intense this week.

In case anyone missed them, here (below) are the adverts which appeared in a number of newspapers at the weekend courtesy of the Free Speech Network, the coalition organised by publishers in opposition to any moves towards a state-controlled press regulator.

For my money, Times editor James Harding has done the best job so far of making the case against a state-run regulator. As he says, even if such a regulator was genuninely independent - it would still mean that the public would look to the Government to control the press. Philosphically and politically it would be a massive step.

I don't believe that Prime Minister David Cameron can afford to foist a statutory regulator on a reluctant press thereby putting himself at war with the tabloids for what would probably be the remainder of his time in office. But he also can't ignore the recommendations of his own costly public inquiry.

My hunch (and hope) is that pretty rapidly after Thursday the handful of powerful figures who hold the purse-strings for the PCC will agree a revised Hunt/Black plan which addresses any serious shortcomings identified by Lord Leveson while keeping the state out of press regulation. Surely that would be the best solution for everyone - Hacked Off and Hugh Grant included?

Latest news

The head of the Crown Prosecution Service faced criticism in Parliament this afternoon for the conviction rate of journalists and was challenged over allegations of a "witch hunt" against the industry.

Phone-hacking was "rife" at all three of Mirror Group Newspaper's (MGN) national titles by mid-1999 at the latest, the High Court has heard.
The date when the practice first started at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People was not known, counsel David Sherborne told a hearing to decide the amount of compensation to be awarded in eight representative claims.